


Sacrifice Play

by sunsetveins



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Character Analysis, Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Kinda, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, POV Peter Parker, Peter hates Steve, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Steve is not a hero, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, and he doesn't understand why tony doesn't love himself, basically a, he doesn't like him, it's implied that he made tony hate himself because obv, peter loves tony tbh, thinks he's selfish, this is just peter analyzing tony's thought process when it comes to himself and steve, tony is a GOOD MAN
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 06:16:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12905892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetveins/pseuds/sunsetveins
Summary: alternatively titled Tony Stark: a character analysis by Peter Parker aka all the reasons Captain America is not a heroSomewhere in his life, someone taught Tony that the good in him was his downfall. They took what was a pure need to do good and twisted it into something ugly, a flaw in the grand design that was Howard Stark’s heir. Tony Stark is human in every single way that the word can be interpreted, and someone took that and used it against him. They made him believe that being human was his fatal flaw, that it didn’t make him good or strong. It instead made him prone to mistakes and stripped away any ability to be what Captain America was.It makes Peter angry, because Tony Stark is what Captain America could never be - a good man.





	Sacrifice Play

Peter doesn’t understand a lot of things about Tony Stark, but something that really concerns him is the way that the man chooses to let himself be second best. It’s almost as if he decided a long time ago that he wasn’t worth first place, not where other people were concerned. Not where it counted. Not when Steve Rogers was an option.

And that’s the kicker, isn’t it? Tony is so willing to allow himself to be second when it comes to Steve, as if the man is more than Tony. Better, even. As if Steve Rogers is the true definition of a hero, and Tony is only the remake. It’s startling, because Tony actually believes that. Tony believes the world would rather have Steve Rogers. That it’s only natural that everyone chooses Steve over him. 

Peter doesn’t want to believe it, because Tony seems like everything. He reminds Peter of devastating storms and world shattering earthquakes, only because he is sure that Tony Stark is synonymous with a great tragedy - all encompassing in the way that hurricanes and tsunamis can be. He’s always fighting for what is good and right, as if he knows no other way. He fights so hard, so valiantly, that sometimes he spirals completely out of control and destroys as much as he tries to build, only because he became blinded. _(Ultron - Peter has only really heard the horror stories told in whispers, but he knows that Ultron was the result of Tony being blinded by his fear for the safety of the world, by his desperate need to protect it.)_

Somewhere in his life, someone taught Tony that the good in him was his downfall. They took what was a pure need to do good and twisted it into something ugly, a flaw in the grand design that was Howard Stark’s heir. Tony Stark is human in every single way that the word can be interpreted, and someone took that and used it against him. They made him believe that being human was his fatal flaw, that it didn’t make him good or strong. It instead made him prone to mistakes and stripped away any ability to be what Captain America was. 

It makes Peter angry, because Tony Stark is what Captain America could never be - a good man.

That’s nothing against Steve’s character - _except it totally is because in Peter’s personal opinion, fuck that guy, amiright?_ \- it’s just a fact. Captain America is otherworldly in all the ways that the world doesn’t need. He’s a good story to tell, a tall tale that never should’ve left the pages of the comic books or the walls of the museums. Captain America was an idea - a principle if he was anything else. He was only ever meant to punch Hitler a couple hundred times and save his best friend, Bucky Barnes. Which, really, Peter guesses he’s still doing. Except this time Howard is Tony, and Tony is unwilling to sacrifice the greater good. He’s unwilling to not listen to reason - whether it is wholly right or wholly wrong, or somewhere in between the two. He sees Captain America for what he really is; a young kid just trying to save his best friend, not a hero trying to save the world. He sees Steve Rogers.

Peter supposes that Tony also sees the place in Steve’s mind where those two roles get crossed together. Ever since Steve was given the serum, he’s been made to believe that he’s supposed to save the world. That he’s the hero the world needs, and that he has to be Captain America because there is no one else that is capable of getting the job done. Ever since he woke up in the future, the world has treated him like he’s meant to lead the charge. He has to be the hero, because he’s Captain America. There is simply no other way. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and Tony knows that. Steve has no idea what he’s doing, not really. He only knows what he believes is right, and that belief always stays directly in line with his belief that Bucky Barnes is his to save. 

It isn’t Steve’s fault. At least, Peter thinks that’s what Tony believes, because Tony is always willing to see the good inside the bad, and Tony has been programmed his entire life to believe that there is always good in the things that Steve Rogers does. Peter, however, believes that Steve is selfish. He may have a good case for being the way he is, but there are some things that cannot be blamed on outside circumstances. One of those things is the fact that Steve never should’ve betrayed Tony like he did. He never should’ve kept the truth about Howard and Maria from him. He never should’ve attempted to kill Tony. He never should’ve sent Tony that phone. There is no blame to be placed for these transgressions. It wasn't Captain America that did these things, it was purely Steve and his selfishness. Peter only wishes that Tony could see it.

He wishes Tony could see the real truth. The truth that Iron Man is the hero in this story, and Steve is simply a man unwilling to be the sidekick. A man unwilling to make the sacrifice play. 

Maybe one day, Peter thinks, Tony will be shown the truth. Maybe one day he’ll believe it. 

Until that day, Peter will continue to watch over the man and hope for the best. And if he keeps an eye on the location of a certain phone, no one else needs to know.

**Author's Note:**

> pls don't kill me for not being the nicest to cap


End file.
